Gus Chan, The Plain DealerCuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason, a co-author of Issue 6 writes down election results on from a booth in The Harp Tuesday. The passaage of Issue 6 has left Cuyahoga County Democrats divided.

ANALYSIS

Cuyahoga County's Democratic Party emerged from Tuesday's election with a complicated future.

The passage of Issue 6 -- which dramatically overhauls county government -- bruised the party's ego, divided its leaders and eliminated a source of political power.

The vote also handed the party -- whose members outnumber Republicans in the county nearly 5 to 1 -- new opportunities to reshape its image and increase its influence.

Exactly what impact Issue 6 will be on the party's internal politics is unclear less than a week after the election.

But it surely has elevated Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, who co-authored the reform measure and was the lone county officeholder to support it.

The reform victory is also likely to further isolate him from some Democrats.

"I knew I would make enemies, but I didn't think it was as cutting and deep as it was, so I guess I need to first pull out the arrows and sew up the wounds and move on," Mason said in an interview Friday.

Mason expects to help lead the transition to the new government, so he will need to work closely with the party's leadership. He said that he has received only a few calls from party leaders since Tuesday and that he has called some as well, though he declined to identify them.

"It's time for all leaders to come together," he said. "It's time for new leadership and time to re-engage the Democratic Party."

Issue 6 has sparked public and private maneuvering and posturing among leaders and renewed calls for CommissionerJimmy Dimora to fully relinquish his role as party chairman.

Dimora, who has been the party's unpaid chairman since 1994 and whose current term ends in May, remains at the center of a broad federal public corruption investigation along with County Auditor Frank Russo.

Federal agents raided the offices and homes of Dimora and Russo, among others, more than a year ago. The two have not been charged and deny wrongdoingbut have been linked to others who have pleaded guilty to corruption. The investigation generated an avalanche of headlines that certainly weighed on voters.

Dimora took a leave as party chairman in June to avoid attracting the spotlight during the election season. Vice Chairwoman Pat Britt, Cleveland's clerk of council, became the interim party chair.

State party Chairman Chris Redfern said the party needs to break completely from Dimora if it wants a chance at renewal.

"As long as Dimora is included -- officially or unofficially -- the effectiveness of the party is at risk," Redfern said.

He believes passage of Issue 6 was "organically driven" and a referendum on Dimora's leadership.

"He's driving the party into the ground," Redfern said.

Britt said that she and Dimora are not seeking another term as party leaders but intend to finish their current terms. And she said she views Tuesday's election as any other: "The people spoke."

"I think the party must now work diligently to make this new system the most efficient and effective it can be," Britt said. "I don't think we can be angry or upset at anyone for this. We won our races, and Cuyahoga County will remain a Democratic stronghold."

Britt said she had not received a call from Mason, nor had she called him.

Issue 6 passed in every community in Cuyahoga County. In Cleveland, where Mayor Frank Jackson and U.S. Reps. Marcia Fudge and Dennis Kucinich pressed voters to reject Issue 6, the measure passed with 57 percent of the vote.

The party -- strongly backed by big labor -- endorsed a competing measure, known as Issue 5, which would have created a special commission to study county government and recommend changes next year.

The voice of the party has always been its top elected officials, but Issue 6 has quieted them, eliminating 10 of the 11 county elected positions in 2011. Current Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones and Treasurer Jim Rokakis were among those who spoke out against Issue 6.

The reform planreplaces the elected offices with an elected executive and 11-member council, but it keeps an elected county prosecutor.

While the county officeholders have lost their bully pulpit, other Issue 6 opponents will remain largely unaffected by their opposition.

Jackson, who won a second term in a landslide Tuesday, is backed by many of the same business leaders who supported Issue 6. And though he keeps a low profile publicly, he commands attention and respect, not only as a black leader but as one of the region's top elected officials. It will be up to Jackson to try to build his power in partnership with the new county executive, who will represent 1 million more people.

Until a county executive is elected, Jackson is the titular head of the party. Democratic Parma Heights MayorMartin Zanotti, who co-authored Issue 6, said Jackson is the key player in the county transition.

"He canheal the wounds and is the strongest leader -- black or white," he said.

Fudge, who inherited a historic congressional seat still imbued with the legacy of Lou Stokes, will also remain a key leader, particularly for the region's black voters. They have always represented a powerful voting bloc in Northeast Ohio but were on the losing side in the debate over county reform.

Nina Turner, a black state senator from Cleveland, saw her profile rise and will maintain a voice in the political debate as one of the few Democrats to join Mason in backing Issue 6.

Democrats overall were successful on Tuesday in keeping and winning Democratic seats in local communities, but the party organization itself has struggled.

It has little money and unfilled neighborhood elected positions, and this year, it failed to produce a sample Democratic ballot that many politicians rely on, forcing the state party to be more involved than it likes.

The party assisted Cleveland Municipal Judge Michelle Denise Earley, printing and mailing a piece of campaign literature for her.

Earley was appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland in April to fill a vacancy and faced four candidates, including Greg Groves, a community activist with ties to some of the party's leadership. In the end, Earley easily won, defeating Groves by nearly a 2-1 ratio.

The state party also lent Cleveland City Council members its postal permit for campaign mailings to make up for a lack of local party assistance.

"That's the role of the local party," Redfern said.

Cuyahoga County Democratic Party activists have noticed the local organization's failings. A small group of them had been meeting to discuss possible changes to the party's bylaws and ways to better integrate the surge of younger Democrats who came out for Barack Obama last year.

Democratic activist and attorney Jan Roller said she and others put efforts on hold until Tuesday's election. She now sees a great opportunity to step in.

"Those things are now going to happen, and there is excitement around them," said Roller, whose husband is David Abbott, executive director of the Gund Foundation and long-time proponent of regional efforts.

Roller said Issue 6's victory "is paving the way for opportunities for people who have a lot of optimism for Cleveland."

Before the election,"the door was shut and activity didn't happen," she said. "Finally, some roadblocks have been moved out of the way."

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.